The Lost Warren series
by Wolf Stevens
Summary: A series of chapters/stories about a lost line of the Warren family tree. Amanda, the last of the forgotten line, is adopted by Leo and Piper and they don;t find out about the relation until fourteen years later. Takes off right before "Witch Way Now?".
1. The Simple Life

Hi. I'm SoldierWolf and this is my first time posting anything I've written on the web. This is the first story that I have written in about a year, but it isn't the first of it's kind for me. I originally had over 300 stories planned to write and actually had 20 written but when I came home from basic training for the Army I had a crazy thought that I would never need the series again, so I burned all of my stuff (I lived in the countryside where burning your garbage was the way to dispose of your trash). Lo and behold I actually started writing again in college and during my preperation for Iraq. I promise that I am going to get the next few stories posted asap, but would love to have some input and ideas tossed at me for future stories in the series. Feel free to email me at I may not respond right away, but I will get back to you in a timely manner if you want me to. So enjoy this begining to the Lost Warren series.

Disclaimer: I do not own any part of the Charmed franchise. I wish I did and had powers as awesome as Piper's, but I don't so I have to settle for fighting the real life badguys instead.

The Simple Life

A life so simple that everyone goes through it. That life is called the teenage years. Yet those years aren't always as simple as they seem. At least, not from my view. After all, I was just starting out in junior high.

My mother had gotten married only a few weeks before school started, and we were all getting used to having a male in the house (besides the dog). Steve was a nice guy most of the time, but he also had his bad times. A couple of days after he and my mother, Julie, were married and he was moved into the house, I found him measuring my room. I had confronted him about it, and he told me that my room was going to be turned into an office and I was going to be moved into the basement. My first thought was that it would be great to have my own room. But my second thought was of how rude he was in thinking that he didn't need to ask me.

Then something happened on my second week of school that would change my future forever. He had gotten a job transfer in San Francisco, California. My mom was ecstatic for him. How could she not? She was his wife, after all. But I was upset. I had just started school, and I was liking my classes. Instead I had to pack all my things and travel almost half way across the country to a state known for earthquakes and too much sun. My mother quit her job as a mill worker, which was a good thing.

After transferring schools and being put into the grade ahead of what I was (I had tested out of the seventh grade and was now in the eighth), I was finally starting to settle in to the big city life. My mother had gotten another job as a bartender at a place called Quake. And Steve had gotten started in the office of Bartleby and Malchow. Things seemed to be going great if you were looking in the window of the two-bedroom apartment we had, but you could only know if you were living there. Every day Steve was home by 4, and since school let out at 330, he mandated that I was to be home no later than 430. If I was late, I was punished by punches, kicks, and vulgar words. More than once during the first four weeks we were there he had left bruises on my arms and abdomen. I tried to tell my mother what he was doing to me, but she didn't care. She was focused on that man, loving him more than her own daughter. Sure, I may have been had out of wedlock, but that was her choice, not mine. Even if she did try to confront Steve about me, he would turn it around to make her think that I was the one who tried to strike him first.

Finally after the first of November I just gave up on caring. I hadn't made any friends in school, and my grades were below my average A's. There was only one person that I associated and sat with during lunch time at school, and that was a boy by the name of Kyle Reher. He was apparently well-liked around the school, yet I couldn't figure out why he wanted to sit by me. Then again, we did share science and writing together. About a week before Thanksgiving he had decided to ask if he could walk me home. I lived about two miles from the school, and sometimes I walked through a gang area just to make it home by Steve's time deadline. I thought about it for a quick moment and decided that a little company would be welcomed.

I gave him a small smile. "Sure," I said. "As long as you don't mind two miles of walking."

"Not a problem," he said, smiling back. We grabbed our coats and backpacks and head out. The air was slightly nippy and you could see your breath, but it was refreshing from being in the stuffed up building all day.

"So, Mandy," he started chatting a few blocks from school. "How did you become such a whiz at writing?"

I shrugged. "I don't know," I said, brushing a few loose strands of hair behind my ear. "I've just always liked writing, and I had started doing some poetry about two years ago."

"That's amazing!" he said, looking at me. "I wish I had that kind of talent. How old are you again?"

"I'm only 13," I said, blushing.

"Wow. Well, you are amazing." He shook his head. "No wonder you're getting and A in Ms. Robokoff's class." I laughed at his comment. "You know, I'd love to see some of your poetry." I looked at him.

"You want to read some scribbles that I made on a piece of paper?" I shook my head in disbelief. "It's just a bunch of crap, is what it is."

"I don't believe that," he said. "I've read some of the stories that you wrote for class. They were amazing."

"Class and the real world are two different things, Kyle," I said, thinking about how my world seemed perfect in school but was a nightmare at home.

"But you seem to have this ability to make the reader become the character." He stopped me. "It's mesmerizing. Like you." I stood there looking at him for a moment. I couldn't believe what I just heard. Was one of the most popular guys from school actually liking me? It couldn't be possible. I started walking again.

"You're crazy Kyle," I said. He hung his head and continued walking by my side. "I'm just a nobody."

"That's what all the guys said. I don't believe them though. And I really don't believe you when you say it." He shook his head and looked at me. "I don't know what it is, Mandy, but you're different from all of the other girls. And I mean that in a good way. You're down to earth, nicer than them." I blushed then. He really was crazy about me. I couldn't believe it. I was always the outcast in the past. It was an exhilarating feeling. He lifted his head and looked at me. Even though I was only 13, I could tell when someone was in love.

"Kyle," I said, and shook my head. I sighed. "What are you saying, Kyle?"

"Well, in my own way I guess that I'm asking you out," he said, kicking a stone. "Will you be my girlfriend?" I stopped walking and looked at him. He walked a few more steps before realizing that I wasn't next to him and turned around. "What? What is it?"

"Gosh, I've never been asked out before," I said in disbelief to his question. "I mean, I was always the ugly duckling." He let out a chuckle.

"Mandy, you're not an ugly duckling," he said, taking a step closer. "I believe you're the beautiful swan." I smiled and started walking again.

"You really think that?" I asked.

"Absolutely," he said.

"Well, I guess I can be your girlfriend," I said. "I mean, how bad can it be?" He laughed and took my hand in his.

"I'm glad you're my girlfriend," he said. "Now I have someone to talk to and hang out with when I'm bored." For some odd reason I had the sudden urge to check the time. My watch read 445. I suddenly stopped and let go of Kyle's hand, which he turned around from. "What? What is it? What's wrong?" he asked, concerned about me.

I shook my head. "I have to go," I said and took off running. "I'll see you on Monday," I shouted over my shoulder. I still had about half a mile to go, but I knew that I was dead meat. I was about to receive the beating of a lifetime from a man I didn't even claim as my stepfather. I reached the door five minutes later, breathing hard. I cautiously opened the door and entered the apartment, only to find Steve sitting at the kitchen table.

"You're late," he said while looking down at his folded hands.

"I'm sorry," I said, finally catching my breath.

"I thought I told you to be home by 430," he calmly said. I was getting terrified of him because he was never this calm unless he was seducing my mother or waiting to strike me. I figured the latter.

"I said I'm sorry," I told him. He slowly got up and walked towards me. I stood right where I was and didn't budge, yet I was trembling inside.

"When I say for you to be home by a certain time, you are to be home by that time," he said in his eerily calm voice. "No later than my stated time." Suddenly his hand snapped out faster than I could see and slapped me in the face so hard that I stumbled a few steps. I rubbed my cheek and looked him in the eyes, which were cold with anger. "I thought I told you the last time you were late to never do it again. Yet you deliberately disobeyed me." He struck me again. "Do you think that this is a game, Amanda?" I just stared at him with the best blank stare I could muster. He slapped me again, but this time I lost my balance and fell onto the floor. "Well, it isn't. You disobeyed an order. Now you have to be punished." I noticed the scalpel that he now had in his hand and started to move away from him.

"No," I said. "No, Steve, it was a mistake. I'm sorry. I was working on homework at the end of class and left a little later than I normally do. Please, it was an accident. It won't happen again."

"You're right it won't happen again," he said as I backed into a corner. "From now on I'm picking you up from school." He swung his fist with the scalpel at me and sliced my right arm. I yelped from the pain. "Take your punishment, you stupid brat," he spat at me and swiped again. I put my hands up to protect my face, and the blade caught my hand, leaving a bleeding gash across both palms. I balled up in the corner and covered my head with my bleeding hands.

"Please stop," I cried. "Stop." He sliced my forearms twice more before he stopped.

"Stand up," he commanded. "I said stand up!" I slowly stood up with blood running down my arms. "Hold out your hands." I shakingly put out my hands and he roughly examined them. Then he punched me in the stomach and the head. "Go wash yourself up." I quickly went into the bathroom and locked the door, letting the silent tears run down my face. The cuts stung, but I forced myself to clean off the blood. Every time the washcloth touched the inside of the cut I winced. After twenty long minutes I had the cuts cleaned off, but blood was still coming out of them. I went into my room and grabbed my medical kit and bandaged my arms and palms up, then slipped on a long sleeved shirt and crawled into bed.

When my mother came to ask me about supper I pretended to be in a deep sleep. She knew Steve liked to punish me, but she never really knew how. I never told her exactly what he did because he threatened to kill me if I ever told anyone. If I had bruises, it was because I was clumsy and ran into something in school. This was the first time he had used a weapon on me, but I suspected that it wouldn't be the last. I spent the entire weekend holed up in my room working on my homework and nothing else.

When Monday rolled around the cuts had scabbed over, but the ones on my palms still oozed blood. I had barely gotten into school when Kyle came over to me.

"Hey Mandy," he said, giving me a hug. "How was your weekend?"

"It was ok," I lied, giving him one of my usual smiles.

"Did you think of me?" he asked as we walked to our first class.

"A little," I said, walking into the chemistry classroom.

"Well I know I thought of you," he said as we took our seats. The bell rang as our teacher walked in. He explained that we were going to be working with the Bunsen burners and testing out the reactions of some solids with liquids when heated. Kyle and I got to a lab station and got our equipment out, and got started on the tests. I let Kyle do most of the testing because I was trying to keep the slashes hidden under my long-sleeved tee. He kept giving me curious looks, but I focused solely on the task at hand. When the bell rang for the end of class I rushed off to my English class while Kyle went off to his math class. After third period social sciences, I met Kyle in the cafeteria for lunch.

"How were your classes?" I asked him, taking a bite of a pbj.

"They were okay," he said. "Though I couldn't stop thinking about you." He pushed his tray away and looked at me. "Is something going on that I should know about?" Kyle asked. I took a swig of milk and shook my head. "I want you to pull up your sleeves," he said, gesturing to my arms.

"Why?" I asked. I started to worry about what he would think if he saw the scabbed up gashes on my arms. I could hide my palms easily enough; I just kept my hands in fists and either at my sides or in my pockets. My arms were a different story. I normally wore short sleeve shirts and anyone who was close to me knew that I hated anything longer, so the long sleeved tee was out of the ordinary. I was surprised that Kyle actually noticed the difference. I wasn't acting any differently than I did any other day I was in school.

"Because I have a feeling that something is wrong," he said. I looked into his eyes and could see the concern play across his face. "Mandy, is there something I should be worried about?" I sighed. I wanted to tell him so bad, but I knew that I couldn't.

"There's nothing to worry about," I said, plastering the best smile I could on my face. He had a skeptical look on his face but just nodded.

"Okay," he said with a sigh. The bell rang and we went to dump our trays, then we went to our writing class.

After we had sat down and I pulled out a notebook the teacher started explaining on how our last assignment was for the most part a disappointment except for a few students. Kyle looked at me from his desk next to mine and gave me a grin. Our teacher handed out a sheet of paper with our next assignment on it as she explained what she wanted from us. We could work in pairs, but we had to write about our families. As soon as she let us go to pick our partners, nearly half the class came up to me and started to beg me to be their partner. I told them that I had a partner before we were released and snatched Kyle up to go sit in a corner.

"Jeeze, with the way they horded me, you'd think I was a celebrity," I jokingly said to him.

"Well, it is no secret that you are the best writer in the class," he said, giving me a wink. I could feel my cheeks warming as I blushed.

"So, let's get started on your family," I said, pulling out a pen and focusing on the paper.

"No way," he said, holding up his hands. "My family is way too boring to be written about. We are going with yours."

"No, mine is most likely more boring than yours is," I argued. "Come on, Kyle. Being an only child is a boring family."

"We could always use a fictional family, then," he suggested. "Just use our family member's names for the characters."

"Oh yeah," I sarcastically said. "Steve is a horned demon and my mom rides around on brooms in the clouds while I'm playing Cinderella. Get real." Little did I know how close to the truth I really was with Steve. Kyle laughed.

"Yeah, and my family is actually a herd of unicorns and dragons that can transform so we can fit into the human world," he laughed. "Now those would be two interesting families." Even I had to chuckle at that one.

"Well, we have to write about one of our families. I'd rather write about yours." I leaned into the paper and started writing a title, but Kyle stopped me.

"Hold it, you're bleeding," he said, and I noticed the smeared blood marks.

"Shit," I whispered, realizing that my hand was oozing again. Kyle flipped my hand over and realized that there was a gash in my palm.

"Mandy, what is this?" he asked, looking in my eyes.

"You wouldn't believe a paper cut, would you?" I asked, grimacing.

"No," he said, looking a bit hurt. I felt really guilty for keeping the truth from him.

"Well, see, I cut myself while chopping onions yesterday," I lied. He took my other hand and looked at it.

"On both hands you cut yourself?" He asked skeptically. He put both of my hands together and noticed that the cuts lined up. His brow furrowed. "Mandy, I thought you said that nothing was wrong." I sighed. Apparently I couldn't keep everything from him.

"Promise that you won't tell anyone about this?" I whispered to him. He sighed and I could tell that he was fighting something inside of himself.

"Okay," he said reluctantly. "As long as you tell me what is going on."

"Alright," I said, nodding. The bell rang and I pulled my hands from his, then packed my stuff. "Can we ditch? I just want to be with you."

"Okay," he said, wrapping his arm around my waist. We stopped by our lockers and grabbed our coats, then walked out of the school. We walked in silence until we got to Golden Gate Park, a few blocks from the school. "So what's going on with you?" Kyle asked after buying some hot chocolate from a vender.

I accepted the cup and inhaled the steam. "What's going on at home with you?"

"You swear that you won't say anything to anyone?" I asked again.

"I promise," he said as we sat down on a cold bench. I sighed and lowered the cup to my lap.

"My step-father is a jerk," I stated. "He makes all of these crazy rules and expects me to obey them. He punishes me if I don't." I looked at my palms. "These were just from being late on Friday." I shook my head, not really caring about what I was saying because it was feeling so good to get it off of my chest. "The time before that, a month ago, he broke a few ribs on me. Last week he kicked me in the knees."

"That's why you were limping," Kyle said and I nodded.

"It hurt so bad to walk, but I just fought through the pain." I laid my head on his shoulder and he held me. "Sometimes when he gets like that, I just wish that he would just kill me and get it over with. Release me from the suffering." I let out a half-hearted laugh. "That would be too humane though."

"I'm sorry," Kyle said, kissing the top of my head. "I wish that there was something that I could do for you."

"Just being with you right now is all that I need," I said, staring off into the ocean. I don't remember how much time had passed, but I noticed after a while that it was starting to get dark. I glanced at my watch and noticed that it was already around 530. "Oh no," I said and stood up suddenly.

"What?" Kyle said, standing up too.

"I'm already almost an hour late," I said, looking him in the eyes with fear in mine. "He's gonna kill me." I could feel the tears stinging, but I blinked them back.

"It's okay," Kyle said. "I'll go with you and tell your parents that I went with a walk with you after school. It'll be fine."

"No," I said, shaking my head and stepping back from him. "No, if you do that then he'll know that I told you what I told you and he really will kill me then."

Kyle got a perplexed look on his face. "But I don't want you to be in trouble," he said.

"I know, but I can't let you risk anything," I said. "I don't want you to feel guilty if anything happens, okay?" I gave him a guilty look and took off running for the apartment, leaving Kyle looking worried in the middle of the park. I knew that he was going to worry all night about me, but there was nothing else that I could do for him.

I hadn't even closed the door all the way before something hit me in the side of the head. I closed my eyes from the pain and doubled over, but another blow, harder than the last, hit me in the middle of my back, causing me to yelp and collapse to the floor. I broke my fall with my hands, but another blow was delivered to my abdomen, knocking all of the air out of me. I barely glanced up before Steve kicked me in the face, sending me sprawling on my back and holding my bloody nose.

"You disobeyed me again," he growled, and I swore that I saw his eyes turn a solid black. "I told you what was to happen if you disobeyed me." He kicked me in my side and I yelped in another spasm of pain. "Now tell me, where were you?"

"I was walking home," I coughed out, but got another kick in my side.

"Don't lie to me, Amanda. I hate liars."

"I'm not lying!" I gasped as I crawled to the couch. I felt a sharp pain strike me on my back and I tensed up from the pain.

"Yes you are." He got into my face. "I can smell it on you, you stupid bitch." I mustered every bit of strength I had and head butted him in the nose, then took off out the door and just started running. I didn't know where I was running to, but I just knew that I had to run. The pain was intense and my body was telling me to stop, but my head was telling me that distance was safety. I finally stopped when I ran into someone who was on the sidewalk. I ran into the woman with enough force that I fell backwards while she just stumbled.

"Watch where you're going kid!" she scolded until she saw the blood on my face. "Oh my god, are you okay?" she asked, kneeling down by me.

"Help me," I gasped and closed my eyes from the pain. I remember seeing that she was a fair faced woman with dark mid-length hair and high cheekbones.

"You're gonna be okay, kid," she said. "Can you get up?"

"I think so," I grunted, and pushed myself up to my feet. She grabbed my elbow to help steady me and lead me into a nice Victorian house.

"Piper!" she shouted as she settled me onto a couch. "Piper! Can you bring me the first aid kit?"

"Why do you need the first aid kit?" someone in another room shouted.

"Can you just bring it. Now, please," the woman shouted. "And a clean damp washcloth?"

"Why in the world would you need these?" another woman asked as she entered the room, but gasped when she saw me. "Oh."

"She ran into me as I was coming up to the house from my car," the woman next to me explained while wiping the blood off of my face. I was very placent because of the pain.

"What's your name?" the other woman asked, sitting down on the table in front of me.

"Mandy," I said, wincing as the one with the washcloth touched the bump on the side of my head.

"Sorry," she said.

"It's okay," I muttered.

"Well Mandy, I'm Piper," the one across from me said. "And this is Paige. Can you tell us what happened?" I winced again as Paige bumped my side.

"My stepfather," I said and closed my eyes from the bright lights that just filled my eyes from the pain in my head. "He was punishing me for being late."

"He was punishing you?" Paige asked.

"Yeah," I acknowledged and leaned forward to ease the pain in my chest. My sides and my stomach hurt like hell, but there was nothing I could do to ease the pain.

"How was he punishing you?" Paige questioned.

"Beat, kick, punch," I muttered. "Used a bat, too, I think." I glanced at them and they looked at each other for a moment.

"How bad do you hurt?" Piper asked.

"Bad enough," I stated.

"Can you lay down?"

"Yeah," I said, and she eased me into a laying position on the couch.

"How do you feel now?" she asked.

"A little better now that the pressure is relieved," I said and she nodded.

"Are you open minded?" she asked.

"Yeah," I said, closing my eyes. "Why?"

"Because my husband is an alternate healer," she said. "Would you mind if he took a look at you?"

"Anything to ease the pain," I said. I couldn't explain why but I was feeling very relaxed around these strangers. I knew I shouldn't, but they seemed so caring.

"Okay," she said and walked away. A few moments later I heard footsteps coming towards me and I opened my eyes to see a sandy-haired man walking next to Piper. "Mandy, this is my husband Leo." I squinted, trying to figure out why he looked so familiar.

"Nice to meet you," I said, then closed my eyes from the strain of focusing.

"So where does it hurt?" he asked.

"Everywhere," I stated. "Mostly the abs and chest area."

"Okay, just relax and focus on a happy place," he told me, and I scoffed, but immediately regretted it from the pain that consumed my whole body. "What's wrong?" he asked.

"Nothing," I said. "Just do what you need to do." I focused on the times that I had spent with my family when I was younger, and a time that my friend had told me about her finding that there were real witches in the world, because she was one. I had asked her to prove it to me and she told me to hide in a corner. Then she said something around me and told me to just stay where I was. Then she called out into the air and a man appeared in bright white and bluish orbs. He looked sort of like... "You." My eyes opened as I said the word, and I saw the tail end of Leo's hands glowing. Piper tensed up and Leo looked surprised. Paige gasped. My eyes, however, were locked on Leo. "You're a white lighter," I stated calmly, as if I was reciting something out of a textbook.

"Leo, how does she know?" Piper asked. Leo just stared into my eyes.

"I don't know," he said. "How do you know about white lighters?"

"My friend told me about them when she found out that she was a witch," I recalled. "She called you to prove it to me. Though I had a feeling that magic already existed." His brow furrowed.

"When did she call me?" he questioned, suspicion in his eyes.

"Last year. Around September." That was when I noticed that the pain in my body had gone away. "You healed me."

"Yeah. But that's off the topic," Piper said, moving closer. "Why did your friend show you magic?"

"I don't know, really," I said, trying to recall why she showed me magic. "I guess she just wanted to tell someone and she trusted me."

Leo sighed. "I remember now. I thought I sensed someone else, but I couldn't tell."

"She hid me with her magic," I said. "She said that you wouldn't come unless I was hidden." That was when there was a knock on the door.

"I'll get it," Paige said, but I had a feeling that it was Steve. I tensed and sat up. I heard him ask Paige a question and she answered that I was in the house, then led him into the living room.

"Amanda, I was so worried about you," he said in a caring voice. I could tell that he was just faking it for impression's sake. "You know you shouldn't have taken off like that after the car hit you. Are you hurt?" He made a move to touch my arm, but I jerked away from him and stood up.

"Stay away from me, you sick bastard," I said.

"Amanda, I'm only here to help you," he said, sounding like my words hurt him.

"No you're not," I spat. "You're only here to take me back to beat me again." That was when I noticed that his nose wasn't even broken. "How's your nose, Steve?"

"Fine," he said, suddenly seeming a bit distracted by Paige and Piper. A third woman walked into the room but stayed silent. "Why do you ask?"

"Because I remember breaking it with my forehead," I said. Suddenly his eyes turned black.

"I'm getting tired of this Amanda," he said, taking a step towards me. I struck his nose with the flat of my palm with enough force to kill someone, but he just staggered backwards a few feet. When his head came back up, his nose was still perfectly fine.

"What the hell?" I said, fear taking over my body. I noticed the three women gather together and Piper wave her hands. Steve automatically froze in his advance on me. "What the hell?" I repeated, looking close at Steve. His eyes were blacker than night, and I noticed a flicker of flames deep in them.

"Uh, Piper," the new woman said, "why didn't she freeze?"

"Good question," Piper said, looking at me. "Why didn't you freeze?" I got perplexed.

"What do you mean?" I asked. "You mean, like he did?"

"Yeah," she said.

"I dunno," I said, shrugging. Suddenly there was a shimmer in the air behind the women, and one of them was very close to Piper. My eyes widened and I bolted for the forming mass. Piper moved to the side and I tackled it. She noticed the other one and somehow blew it up while I punched the hell out of the one I had tackled. He went unconscious and I got off of him. "What the hell are they?" I asked, slightly out of breath from using so much energy.

"Demons," Piper said. The new woman looked at her.

"Piper," she said, almost as if Piper was letting out a huge secret.

"Phoebe, she already knows about magic and white lighters," Piper informed her.

"Wait, what?" Phoebe asked, confused. "How does she know about magic and white lighters?"

"That's still to be fully determined," Paige said. Leo orbed in; I guessed that he orbed out when I hit Steve.

"We have to go," he said. "The Elders just told me that there's a demonic bulls eye here at the manor. Every demon is on their way."

"Paige, go get the book," Piper said. "Hurry." Paige took off up the stairs and Phoebe was looking at Steve.

"Piper," she said after a moment, backing away. "Do you know who this is?"

"No," Piper said, glancing around for any danger. "Who is it, Phoebe?"

"It's Cobolt," she stated. "He's an upper-level demon that was one of the Source's personal body guards. No one saw the Source unless they got past him."

"How strong is he?" Piper asked, and suddenly Steve moved.

"This strong," he said and blasted Piper and Phoebe backwards into another room. "Stupid witches." He turned to me and sighed. "You were such a brat. I can't wait for you to be dead." All of a sudden a ball of fire formed in his hand and he lobbed it at me. I dove for the floor and the ball missed me. I heard an explosion and looked up to see Piper with her hands out.

"Are you okay?" she asked me.

"Yeah," I said as I got up. "What's going on?"

"I don't know," Piper sighed. "And I really hate to do this, but you have to come with us."

"Come with you where?" I asked, panic now starting to settle in.

"Uh, I don't know, really," she admitted. "We just have to start moving before the demons get here." Just then Paige came down the stairs carrying a huge book. "Ready?" Piper asked the other three. They all nodded and she pushed me out the door and to a blue jeep. We all got in, Piper in the driver's seat, and started driving. After a few blocks we noticed a cop car following. The lights were off, but it was still following us. I started to get a little paranoid but I refused to let it surface. When we were nearing the outskirts of the city the lights went on. "Oh come on," Piper groaned. I looked back out the window and let out a yelp.

"Are the cops around here supposed to have green skin?" I asked. Everyone in the car looked out the back window, then Piper whipped around and pressed on the gas.

"Leo, why are demons using cop cars?" Piper asked, sounding a bit panicked.

"I don't know," he said. Piper took a sharp left and nearly ran into a wall as she sped up down an alley way. The cop car sped up and kept on our tails.

"What is with these guys?" Piper said out loud to no one. She pressed on the gas as soon as we hit a main road, but the car was still on us. As we were nearing the eastern edge of the city, there was a blockade of cop cars. "Uh oh." I leaned forward towards the front and surveyed the scene.

"Go for in between two cars," I said. "As fast as you can."

"Why?" she asked.

"Because it will cause them to spin out of the way," I answered.

"Are you sure?" Paige questioned.

"As sure as I can be," I said. Piper grimaced, but aligned the car and pressed harder on the gas. The car lurched and sped up, causing the demons in front of it to scatter and the jeep to smash through the cars. The jeep fishtailed a bit when we got through the vehicles, but Piper straightened us out and blew through the suburban area. Five minutes later we were in a wooded area, and she pulled into a dark spot and shut the jeep down, then turned around.

"So does anyone have a plan here?" she asked. We all looked at each other, but no one was saying anything. Finally I piped up.

"We should split up," I suggested. "It'll be harder to track three seperations than one group."

"Hold up, what do you mean three?" Piper said.

"You guys split up and I'll lead them away from everyone."

"No, no way. These are demons we're dealing with. You can't go up against them without magic. That's suicide." Piper argued.

"Then what do you suggest?" I asked. "Cause we're killing valuable time here."

"Paige and Phoebe will go one way, and you, Leo, and I will go another. We're not leaving you unprotected."

"We'll be an orb away," Paige said, then orbed Phoebe out of the vehicle. Piper started the jeep up again and started driving away.


	2. Two Worlds, One Family

hey everyone, sorry about the update. I was very busy with the army and what not, and this story kinda fell to the back burner. And just an FYI, I am still stateside, not in Iraq, bless my lucky stars. But I hope you all enjoy this one, and I will try to work harder on my next update. Unfortunately, it might be just as long, but I will get it on when I do. Please be patient with me.

Disclaimer: I do not own rights to anything Charmed, and really wish my my character's powers were real. On with the show!!

**Two Worlds, One Family**

Two weeks. We had been on the run from evil for two weeks, and everyone's nerves were nearing a breaking point. Piper and Leo took turns driving, and we drove from San Francisco to Los Angeles using many mountain side roads and backtracking a few times. After several close calls with demons we were finally on our way back. It was the third time that we had gotten a motel room under an alias. I slept on one bed while Piper and Leo slept on the other.

I had just started to doze off when I overheard Piper whispering to Leo. I caught tidbits here and there about how she hated being separated from her sisters and not knowing if they were okay. Leo mentioned about how the Elders, whom he explained to me that they were some sort of supreme guardians and lawmakers of good magic, told him that we needed to be protected and how Paige and Phoebe weren't actually being targeted yet. I thought he was just talking about how Steve somehow needed a sacrifice for staying the Source or something like that. I fell asleep a short time after they stopped talking, because I was awoken by Piper shaking me.

"Amanda, we have to go," she said. "Now." I sat up and tightened the laces on my shoes, which I had left on for easier escapes.

"What happened?" I asked while performing my task. "What's wrong?"

"A demon found us," Piper explained. I popped up onto my feet and went for the door. "I blew him up, but more are sure to be on the way."

"Great," I sarcastically said as we left the motel room and jumped into the jeep. "How about they all just attack at once then?"

"I'm surprised that they didn't do that already," Piper said. "What did the Elders say?" she asked, turning to Leo who just orbed into the front seat.

"Just to stay on our guard," Leo sighed, sounding a bit disgruntled. For another twenty minutes the ride was silent. Then the jeep suddenly shut off.

"What now?" Piper mumbled as she turned the key, trying to get the engine to turn over again. Faster than I could blink, four demons shimmered in and grabbed Piper, Leo, and me and shimmered out with us. We reappeared in an open area, almost like a meadow surrounded by trees.

"Very nice," Steve's voice permeated the area. "A Charmed One, a whitelighter, and a brat." He appeared in the center of the clearing in a tower of flames. I struggled against the demon holding me, but it was no use. He had a death grip on my wrists. Steve looked into my eyes and I noticed that they were darker than night. "I'll deal with you in a moment." He then turned to Piper. "Call for your sisters." His voice was colder than ice.

"And if I don't?" Piper taunted.

"Your whitelighter will die very, very slowly," Steve said. "And after he's gone, the kid will be next. And all you will be able to do is watch, unless you call your sisters right now." I saw the pain in Piper's eyes as she imagined Leo being killed, then me. She closed her eyes.

"Paige, Phoebe," she called out. They orbed in and instantly more than a dozen demons appeared and restrained them.

"What the hell?" Phoebe exclaimed, caught off guard from the assailment. "What's going on?"

"Your demise," Steve said, smirking. "The Charmed Ones will be no more." He turned and walked towards me, then stopped three feet away. "I have a proposition for you, Amanda. One that would allow you to keep your life."

"And what would that be?" I asked, disgusted by him.

"You pledge your allegiance to me, and in return I will bestow you with demonic powers and you will be able to help in destroying the Charmed Ones. You refuse, and you will die right now." I glared at him. "Well, what is your choice?" My eyes glanced over at Piper and somehow I felt a connection to her. I glared back at Steve.

"Go to hell," I said, and I spat in his face. He backslapped me, causing my legs to fold and collapsing me to the ground.

"Have it your way," he said, then nodded at the demon who had been holding me. A sword appeared in the demon's hands and he started to plunge it down for my chest. Before the blade made contact, however, bright whitish-blue lights enveloped my sight and my body orbed away and reformed next to Piper. "What the hell?!" Steve screamed. "How can she orb!?" While he had been screaming I had knocked the shocked demon away from Piper and she froze the scene.

"Are you okay?" she asked me, but I didn't have time to answer because Steve had broken through the time freeze. An energy ball hit me in the side and sent me flying thirty feet away. I hit the ground on a pile of rocks and one had impaled my side. As I pulled it out the entire scene unfroze and demons started shimmering, blinking, and flaming out. Piper blew up the ones near Leo and Paige. Phoebe kung-fued her demon. Another demon took advantage of the minor distraction to shimmer in and grab me, then shimmer out again. He reappeared next to Steve and held me fast. I kicked my leg up behind me and made contact with the demon's knees. I used what energy I had to flip the demon over my back, slamming him into Steve. As soon as I did that though, my side felt like it was being ripped apart. I gritted my teeth and kicked the demon, whom had conjured a crossbow. The demon's head snapped back and he exploded into fire. Steve stood up and looked at me, then flames suddenly surrounded my body. I fell to my knees in pain, screaming. As suddenly as the flames started, they had stopped, and I looked up. There was a swirling black mass where Steve had been standing, and beyond that Piper was standing with a look of anger in her eyes. I scrambled to my feet and stumbled over to her.

"You okay?" she asked, then noticed my side. "Oh my god."

"I'll live," I grunted, holding my bleeding side with my left hand. "We have bigger problems." Steve had just reformed and spun around to face us. A fireball had formed and was hurled at Piper, but I shoved her out of harm's way just in time. Piper blew him up again and stood up.

"Paige, Phoebe," she called out. "Vanquishing spell, now!" They started chanting and I heard Steve scream, then an explosion. I felt myself starting to go numb and my vision unfocusing greatly. Piper rolled me over and looked at my side, then looked at my face. "Hold on, Mandy," she said, then called for Leo.

"Piper," I weakly said, feeling her grasp my hand.

"Don't give up," she sternly told me. "You're gonna be okay." I slightly noticed Leo kneel down next to me. Within a moment my senses were sharper and my focus was clearer. I took a deep breath and sat up. Piper hugged me and I hugged her back. "You're okay." We let go and got to our feet.

"Thank you," I said to Leo. He smiled and placed a hand on my shoulder.

"You're welcome," he said, then looked from Piper to Paige to Phoebe. "You guys go back home. I'm gonna go see the Elders and see what they know about Amanda."

"Okay," Piper responded, then they kissed and Leo orbed out. "Paige, can you orb back to the jeep? The demons kind of yanked us away."

"Sure," Paige responded, and we linked hands and she orbed us outside of the jeep. Piper and Phoebe climbed into the front and Paige and I went into the backseat. "You okay?" Paige asked me when I leaned my head against the window.

"Yeah," I muttered, closing my eyes. "Just worried about my mother, that's all."

"You want to go back to your place?" Piper asked.

"Yeah," I said. Piper started the jeep and was driving back to San Francisco. I barely noticed anything as we drove on.

When Piper pulled up to my mother's apartment, I slowly got out and looked up at the third floor. Piper got out and came to stand next to me.

"Want me to come up with you?" she asked, stuffing her hands in her pockets.

"Yeah," I said, nodding my head. "You can help me explain to her why I was gone for two weeks." I lead the way up the stairs to the apartment and stopped at the door.

"You don't have to do this right now," Piper told me.

"No, I want to," I said, then knocked on the door before entering. "Mom?" I called out, turning the handle. When the door easily opened, I got worried. "Mom, are you home?" I called out, stepping in and heard Piper gasp behind me as she closed the door. I turned around and saw the blood spatter she gasped at. "That's where he cut me," I responded, then turned back into the room. "Mom?" I started looking around and it registered in my mind that the apartment was a mess. Almost like there was a fight. The answering machine's light was flashing. "Something doesn't feel right here," I said.

"Okay, well, don't panic," Piper said. "We'll search the apartment and see what we can find. All right?"

"Okay," I said, then headed to the bedroom my mother and Steve used. As soon as I opened the door, a sense of death washed over me. The air in the room was stale and cold, and my eyes instantly locked onto a dark stain on the carpet. "Piper," I called over my shoulder, not moving a step into the room, but my eyes were still locked on the stain. She was immediately behind me. I slowly moved forward into the room, but my fears were building, until I noticed my mother, pale with her own blood all over her body and clothes, with singe marks on her as well. I gasped and turned into Piper's shoulder, burying my face into her jacket. She held me for a moment, then gently pulled me out of the room.

We headed back out to the jeep, and I barely heard Piper instruct Paige to drive back to the manor. I didn't realize I was crying until I felt Piper wipe tears off of my face. I closed my eyes and leaned against her for support.

"Why?" I quietly asked, feeling my emotions weighing me down now. "Why?"

"I don't know," Piper responded, holding me close. I could hear the strain in her voice as she struggled to hold it together for me. Once Paige parked the jeep in the manor's driveway, Piper gently guided me into the house and took me into the kitchen. "What do you want to eat?" she asked me. Paige and Phoebe had gone off elsewhere in the house.

"I'm not hungry," I said, wrapping my arms around my body. My eyes were staring at nothing particular on the floor.

"You need something though," Piper gently argued. "We all need to eat something."

"No." I shook my head. "No, I don't want to eat. I want my mom." I could feel the tears welling up in my eyes. I shifted my eyes up to look into Piper's. "What gave him the right to kill her?"

"Nothing," she responded. "But that's what evil does. It just kills." I stared at her for a moment longer, then turned around and walked into the sun room. I stared out at the setting sun.

A little while later Piper had walked in and set a tray with two cups, a pot, and a few other things on it down on the glass-top table, then walked over by me. The sun had already set and now I was just staring at the lights from the city. "Mandy," she said, gently placing her hands on my arms and guiding me to a white wicker chair. I felt empty inside. I blankly watched as she poured tea into the two cups and handed one to me. "It's chamomile, to help you relax." I nodded and took a sip.

"Piper," I said, looking into my cup. "Thank you for everything you've done so far."

"It's just my job," she said. Just then blue-white orbs appeared, bringing Leo in. We both looked up at him.

"The Elders know everything," he stated, and looked at me. "I'm sorry about you're mom," he said, sympathy filling his voice. "Unfortunately, They can't explain why you can orb. They're only guess is that somewhere along the line your family had whitelighter blood.

"But?" Piper prodded, and he shifted focus to her.

"It's too strong to be from too far in the past."

"Well, do you know what's gonna happen to me now?" I asked. Leo sat down next to Piper.

"The Elders have decided to assign you to be my charge, for me to teach you about being a whitelighter and to protect you. Because of your situation, they agreed that they can change some events so that you can be adopted." He looked down at Piper, who was looking up at him. "They want us to adopt her." Piper inhaled and smiled at him.

"I like the idea," she said, and turned to me. "Would you like to live with us?" I stared at both of them. They were such a good couple. A witch and a whitelighter, but also a loving couple. I knew I would be safe with them, but I was still in shock.

"Can I have some time to think about it?" I asked. Leo nodded.

"The Elders need an answer by tomorrow morning though," he said. I nodded, then tried to stifle a yawn.

"Come on," Piper said, getting up. "I'll show you to the spare bedroom." I followed her up, too exhausted to argue. I was asleep before my head even hit the pillow. Piper pulled some blankets over me and left. Unfortunately, most of my night was filled with nightmares of demons and seeing my mother dead. But my last memory was of my mother coming to me, bathed in white. She told me that the Halliwells would take good care of me, and there was more in store for my future if I did stay with them than if I went back to Wisconsin. I woke up from that, seeing just the first light of day. Quietly I went downstairs and sat on the front porch, just watching the sun rise.

Before it was fully up I heard the door open and close, then noticed Phoebe sit down next to me, holding two cups of coffee. Silently she handed me one and I accepted it. We just sat there, watching the sun rise over the city.

"The Elders want Piper and Leo to adopt me," I finally said.

"Piper told me," she confessed. "What do you think?"

"I don't know. I mean, I only knew my mother to be the one to raise me, not strangers," I said. "But my mother's not here. Plus I have these new powers to deal with." I turned to look at Phoebe. "How did you react when you first received your powers?" She looked thoughtful for a moment, then responded.

"Well, it was kind of scary, but I thought it was the coolest thing in the world," she said. "Prue and Piper however, didn't like it."

"Prue?" I asked.

"Yea, she passed away a few months ago," Phoebe said with a hint of sadness. "From a demon attack." I nodded, realizing she knew what I was going through, to an extent.

"You know, I think I could get used to you and Paige being aunts," I said. "If I have these powers, then I am meant to use them." I saw her smile.

"Not everyone has that kind of attitude, Mandy. Some spend their whole lives fighting any magic given to them." Just then Piper walked out.

"There you two are," she said. "Did you sleep okay?" she asked me. I nodded and got up.

"Piper," I started nervously, "if you and Leo don't mind, I would love to be part of your family." She smiled and moved to put an arm around me. Phoebe moved down the steps to give us a moment and to go grab the paper.

"Mandy, I'm glad that you want to be part of our family," Piper said. Suddenly there was a glow that washed over her and Phoebe. Piper got a confused look on her face.

"Okay, what was that?" Phoebe asked the question we were thinking. Suddenly Leo orbed in.

"The Elders switched the timeline so you are known as a Halliwell," he said, smiling. "Anyone who has known you here in San Francisco knows you as Amanda Halliwell."

"Did the Elders also reverse time?" Phoebe asked. "Because this paper is dated the day that we fled." We all crowded around the paper and saw that the date was from two weeks ago.

"All I know is what they did for Amanda, nothing else," Leo replied honestly. I shrugged and sighed.

"At least I know I have a place to stay," I said.

"Sweetie, you're family now," Phoebe said. "You will always have a place to stay."

"Just be prepared to witness a lot of demon fighting, because we are the Charmed Ones," Piper added. I smirked.

"I'm sure I can handle it," I said, as we all walked into the house. I was the last one in, and stood a moment to look out onto the city. _Bring it on, world,_ I thought, closing the door. _Bring it on._


	3. Destiny Calls

**Okay, I know it's been a long while since I had updated this story, but life was not cooperating with me as far as letting me finish this story/chapter. Recent turn of events laid me off of work for medical reasons though and I was able to finally finish it. So if anyone was actually following my story, here you go. And if you are new to my story, enjoy.**

It was simply another day in the Halliwell manor. The sun was streaming in through my window and across my bed, stirring me from my sleep. I pulled the pillow over my head and rolled over, trying to deny that the day was already here. I was going to enjoy my summer break as best as I knew how in my young life. That was to sleep in.

The road construction crew outside, however, were not going to let me sleep in. The sound of jackhammers and machinery running was already coming through the sound buffer of the pillow. I groaned and got up, moving doggedly to the closet to slip on a tee shirt and some jeans. Unlike my new family, I didn't have all of the girlie looking clothes, nor did I really want them. I was happy with my tom-boy wardrobe. Tee shirts and jeans were my signature clothes. Along with the tennis shoes. Most of what I wore was either black or some dark shade. I slipped into some clothes and shoes then proceeded to go down stairs to go to the kitchen. Piper was already down there sipping coffee and reading the newspaper.

"Good morning," she said chipperly. I grunted and poured myself a bowl of cheerios, then moved over to the fridge to pour the milk in and sat down at the table. "Bad night?" she asked and I glared at her as I crunched.

"No," I said through a mouthful of cereal. "Just not a morning person."

"I hear you there sister," Paige said, walking in and making a bee line for the coffee pot.

"Niece," Piper corrected with a smirk. I glared again.

"Figure of speech," I sarcastically said. "No normal teen should be up at this time in the morning." With that comment both Piper and Paige laughed, then Paige sat down at the table with us.

"Did the construction wake you both up?" Paige asked.

"No," Piper said. "Phoebe did. Unintentionally, but she did."

"You mean she's at work already?" Paige gasped.

"Well whatever," I said, getting up and grabbing my bowl, which I had finished eating the cereal already. "I'm going to watch some TV." I put the bowl in the sink and rinsed it out. "You'll know where to find me if you need me." With that I walked out of the kitchen, through the dining room, and into the solarium where the TV was located, sat down on the wicker couch and flipped through the channels.

"Morning," Leo said to me brightly as he walked in from the lounge area, which was in front of the stairs.

"Hey," I said, not even looking up from the screen.

"What are you doing today?" he asked.

"Exactly what you see me doing now," I replied.

"You will not," Piper's voice sounded as she walked out of the kitchen. I rolled my eyes and looked at her, still not fully functioning. "I want you two to put up some pictures around the house."

"What's the point if demons keep knocking them down?" I asked. "Or incinerating them?"

"So that we can cover up scorch marks if there are any," Piper countered. "Plus it would make this place look more like a home."

"Whatever you say honey," Leo said and kissed Piper. I pretended to gag but really I was jealous of them. I loved my boyfriend and wished that sometime in the future I would have the same kind of relationship with him, even though Kyle was mortal. I still loved him in my own way.

Leo went into the family room and grabbed two pictures, then came back in and handed one to me.

"Where do you want them?" I asked, getting up off the chair.

"I was thinking that those two could go in the foyer," Piper said, leading the way. For about two hours we were putting up the pictures until there was one left. I left Leo, Paige, and Piper in the family room while I went into the kitchen to call Kyle. Unfortunately his older brother told me that Kyle went out with some friends and he wasn't sure when he would be back. I hung up the phone and walked into the family room just as Leo was hovering back down to the ground.

"See, no major disaster struck," Paige told Piper. Piper had been on a recent no-magic kick since our last standoff with evil, and that had resulted in Phoebe losing her baby. Just after Paige made her comment, though, Phoebe walked in after slamming the door with a panicked look on her face.

"We have a huge problem," she said, storming into the room and sat down on the couch.

"You were saying?" Piper said mockingly to Paige.

"Cole tried contacting me again," Phoebe went on to explain as she took off her pink jacket.

"What, more whisperings?" Leo asked, concerned.

"No, this time he was channeling though a TV psychic while I was at work." A wave of pain washed over her face. "He sounded so desperate."

"Wait, did anybody else notice?" Piper asked, alarmed that Phoebe's demonic ex husband was doing this from the grave.

"My highly suspicious assistant." Now Phoebe was sounding pissed. "How am I supposed to move on with my life when I keep being haunted by his afterlife?"

"Leo, what do you think?" Piper asked, turning to him.

"I think you need to do something fast," he said, a little alarmed.

"No, I mean how is he holding on?" Piper clarified.

"I don't know," he answered. "I guess because he's half demon, it must be some kind of astral plane."

"Well, whatever," Phoebe huffed. "We can't risk him contacting me again. I have to figure out a way to get to him and find out what he wants." Suddenly a weird feeling washed over me for a second, and when the feeling passed my mom and aunts were not in front of me. Instead they were in the sun room and Piper's cell phone was ringing. Leo and I looked confused at each other, then walked over to the girls.

"Hey, did you just freeze us?" Leo asked Piper a little ticked.

"No, dear, the Angel of Destiny did," Piper responded.

"Who?" Leo asked, confused.

"Yeah, you'd better check with the Elders and make sure he's for real," she said, reaching for her purse which contained her cell phone. When he hesitated to go she gave him a stern look. "I'm not kidding." Leo quickly orbed out and Piper answered her phone. "Hello?"

"Don't talk, just listen," I heard their cop friend Darryl Morris say through the receiver.

"Darryl, what's wrong?" Piper asked. I sat down and let them huddle around the phone, listening to what Darryl was saying.

"What do you mean? What does he know?" Phoebe asked, panic on the edge of her voice. A few seconds later Piper hung up the phone.

"So are we screwed?" Paige asked.

"Maybe," Piper said, "but that would take destiny out of our hands and I don't think that's what the angel meant."

"Okay, icksnay on the angelnay talk," Phoebe said, then moved for the stairs. Piper motioned for me to follow them, and I had a feeling that we were headed up to the attic. "There's gotta be ears listening in on the house," she explained as we climbed.

"I still don't understand how coming up here is going to help," Paige said as Phoebe grabbed a boom box and plugged it in next to the window.

"Actually it's pretty simple," Phoebe said, turning the box on and turned around to face us. "So you guys have been home all day, right?" she asked.

"Yeah, so?" Piper responded.

"So there's no way he would've had time to bug the inside of the house. He's gotta be listening from the outside," she explained, then walked over to the Book of Shadows.

"Is it ironic that here we are presented with the opportunity to give up our powers and now we suddenly can't even use them?" Piper said, slightly annoyed with her arms crossed over her chest.

"Except not using our powers doesn't necessarily mean that we won't be exposed," Phoebe countered. "We still have Cole to worry about."

"Phoebe, you can't make contact with a dead demon husband," Paige said sympathetically.

"Yeah, but if I don't he will, and then what? The FBI is outside and if they find out about us it's gonna be the same thing as last year, and we don't want that now, do we?" Phoebe flipped the pages of the Book until she found what she wanted. "So I'm going to cast the 'To find a lost love' spell," she explained. "I mean, if Cole's soul is on some astral plane, it should astral me there, right?"

"Are you sure he even has a soul?" Paige treaded cautiously.

"Well what else would be calling out to me?" Phoebe rationalized. "Cole needs closure, and so do I."

"We will create a distraction outside in case your spell inside creates any fireworks," Piper said, giving in reluctantly to Phoebe's plan. Phoebe gave a small nod as Piper, Paige and I were walking out the door.

"Be careful," Paige said as she walked away. Downstairs Piper had Paige and I make some lemonade to take out to the workers in the street. When we were done we walked into the family room where Piper was looking out the window. Paige moved to put the tray of lemonade down on the table, saying, "Unless we spike the lemonade, I doubt-"

"Shh!" Piper silenced her. Paige gave her a weird look and joined her at the window. "That phone company van looks suspicious."

"Why?" Paige asked. I leaned against the back of the couch, trying not to let my worries show.

"Well because it wasn't there earlier, and besides, he didn't put out any cones," Piper said, sounding a bit paranoid.

"That's what you're basing it on?" Paige asked skeptically.

"Well that's the best that I got, okay?" Piper snipidly replied. "Now are you ready?"

"Why don't you just" Paige wiggled her fingers "to the street?"

"Because," Piper explained, sounding a touch annoyed, "what if somebody drives around the corner mid?" She wriggled her fingers. "Now you just need to use some of your god," she paused a second to undo the top button on Paige's dress, "given magic. Okay? Go." As Paige walked off I grabbed Piper as she was going for the back door.

"What do you want me to do?" I asked.

"Go upstairs and keep an eye on Phoebe," Piper said, kissed my forehead, then went out the door. I sighed and went upstairs. Within the time that I walked up the stairs and entered the attic, Phoebe had turned off the stereo and was about to perform the spell. She looked up at me and gave me a questioning look.

"Piper told me to keep an eye on you," I said, shrugging. She nodded, then read her spell and collapsed. I just stared at her in concern, wishing there was something more I could do. Though in truth there was really nothing much I could do. Since Piper and Leo had adopted me I was working on my orbing, but I could only go short distances. And my landings needed practice as well. Leo had informed me that my only role in life may just to be a messenger between the sisters and the Elders when he wasn't around, or the Elders would assign me a charge and I would be deemed a full time whitelighter. I had asked him when I would get to meet the Elders and he told me that I wouldn't get to until my powers were under better control. Until then I would be able to lead a normal mortal life, going to school, hanging out with friends, and doing homework.

Suddenly there was a horrible scream and I was shocked out of my reverie, only to find Phoebe screaming. I was quickly by her side just as Paige and Piper ran in, she screamed again.

"Something is hurting her," Paige said in a grim tone.

"Something is _killing _her!" Piper explained, then flipped a page in the book. "Here, reversal spell." Together she and Paige chanted the reversal spell while Phoebe thrashed in our arms. Then she stopped moving for a second before sitting up and gasping. "Okay, you're okay," Piper soothed.

"Oh my god, what was I thinking?" Phoebe gasped. A beat after the doorbell was ringing. We all paused in mid-motion.

"Uh oh, I hope the freeze didn't wear off," Paige said, slightly panicked.

"Stay here," Piper instructed me and the three of them took off downstairs. I waited a moment before going down to the second floor to listen in from the top of the steps.

"We should talk," I heard a strange male voice say. I watched as my aunts and mom walked into the dining room, followed by a dark haired male dressed in a dark red button up shirt and jeans. I didn't see where they went but I saw him slap a huge file folder onto the table and slide it to where I could only assume my family were. "In case you're wondering, that's just a copy," he said smugly.

"Pursued to agenda trust, Agent Jackman," Phoebe said.

"If I wanted to expose you, I could've done that six months ago when that file first crossed my desk," he said.

"Expose us as what?" Paige asked.

"Witches," he stated. "It's the only logical explanation for all the unsolved cases, the missing persons, the mysterious deaths."

"Prove it," Piper demanded. He pulled something out of a bag he had and pressed a button, playing back a recording of Piper and Paige reciting the reversal spell. "That doesn't prove anything," Piper said when he stopped the tape.

"No, but it implies everything, especially when coupled with that file," he said smugly, putting the recorder away. "You think your newspaper wouldn't run that story?"

"What do you want?" Phoebe asked with a slight defeated tone in her voice.

"Believe it or not, your help. See, I specialize in occult-style slayings, that's why I was watching you in hopes of catching a serial killer. A witch hunter."

"Alright, I've heard enough of this nonsense," Piper said.

"Uh, wait a second, he froze before," Paige said in disbelief and I had the idea that Piper tried freezing Agent Jackman. He pulled something out of his shirt and showed it to them.

"This time I was prepared," he said. "Like I said, I specialize in this stuff. There's supposed to only be a few of these amulets left in the world. Got this one off the witch hunter we're after." He tucked his amulet back into his shirt, then pulled a photo out of his bag and handed it to the girls. "Her name is Selena. I traced her genealogy all the way back to the witch trials. I think killing you people's in her blood, it's what she lives for. I mean, why else would she had burned her last three victims at the stake?"

"Why are you telling us this?" Piper asked.

"Well because I thought you were going to be her next victims, but now that I know who you really are and what you can do, I need you to help me find her before she kills again."

"Do you have any idea where she is?" Phoebe asked him.

"I did for a while. I had her in custody once but she got away." He pulled a plastic bag of items out of his bag and placed it on the table. "These are some of Selena's personal belongings and from what I know, if you use your powers on them you might be able to find her. Now you do that, I'll make sure those files disappear forever. You don't, well, you figure it out." He placed his card on the table and grabbed his bag, and I ducked back out of sight. "Call me." Once I heard the front door close I went down the stairs to the dining room.

"I don't trust him," Paige said, walking over to the bag of items.

"Gee, you think?" Piper asked sarcastically. I grabbed the sides of the chair in front of me and looked at the stuff.

"Maybe we should take the Angel of Destiny up on his offer," suggested Phoebe.

"Great, so we'd be free and so would Selena, who for all we know could be a warlock," Paige countered.

"No, warlocks don't burn witches at the stake, they just steal their powers," Phoebe explained.

"Exactly. Powers, Phoebe, the very things we were given to do good with, remember?" Piper dropped her head and Phoebe huffed and got up.

"Yeah, Paige, I remember." She walked past the stairs and Paige was hot on her heels.

"Guys," Piper said, trying to stop the arguing.

"Do you really or has all that dark magic just kinda gotten into your brain?" Paige continued, prompting Phoebe to stop walking and turn around.

"Guys," Piper said, a little more forcefully, moving to try to break up any serious fighting that could potentially break out.

"I can't believe you're so willing to just throw away our powers." Paige ignored Piper and continued to prod Phoebe. I picked up the calling card that Agent Jackman left on the table and looked it over, trying to ignore everything they were saying but feeling in my heart the weight of all the words Paige was trying to nail into Phoebe and all the tension of the fighting.

"Paige, you don't know the hell that I've been through," Phoebe said angrily. "You didn't live it."

"Oh really?" Paige sarcastically said. "I was just turned into a vampire and then I was shrunk and then we switched bodies and-"

"Okay," Phoebe stopped Paige's rambling. "Imagine going through that for years. All I'm asking is for my life back."

"Okay guy, enough," Piper stepped in, stopping the ping pong match of arguments between Paige and Phoebe. "We need to focus."

"What about you, Piper?" Paige asked her. "What do you think?"

"I think we need to see this through like the angel suggested," she said, then came over to the table and grabbed the bag of stuff and went back to Paige, handing it to her as she spoke. "So Paige, you are going to go up to the attic and get started on this stuff. We will meet you there." When Paige didn't move fast enough Piper said, "scoot," and chased her to the stairs. Paige took the bag and went up to the attic. Piper looked up. "Leo! You can orb, it's all right," she called. Leo orbed in as I turned around.

"What about the FBI agent?" he asked, clearly worried.

"Uh, he already busted us," Piper confessed to him. "But supposedly all he wants is our help."

"Did you find anything out about the Angel of Destiny?" Phoebe asked him.

"He's legit and so is his offer," Leo confirmed.

"Okay, um, can you do us a favor and go get Darryl and make sure that agent Jackman is legit too?" Piper asked him. "And meanwhile, we have a witch hunter to find. Don't ask, just go," she added before he could ask the question. Leo orbed out and Phoebe let out a loaded sigh. "Having a crappy day?" Piper asked her, moving to wrap her arm around Phoebe's shoulders.

"Yeah," Phoebe said.

"Cole?"

"Yeah." Piper gave an understanding nod and they moved towards the stairs.

"Come on kiddo," Piper said to me. "You might as well help us too." I followed them upstairs where we all got working on scrying for the supposed witch hunter. When the phone rang Phoebe went to answer it as Piper confirmed with Paige all the steps for the scrying out of the Book of Shadows as Paige finished up and I put away anything we weren't using anymore. "Before the flame subsides, let the wax from the candle drip onto the crystal," she read and Paige did as she read. "Once consecrated, scry with the crystal for the one who is sought."

There was a small explosion from the pot that Paige was using to consecrate the scrying crystal. "Ain't magic grand?" Paige asked to no one. Phoebe walked back into the attic, finishing up her conversation on the phone and hanging up.

"That was Morris," she explained. "He confirmed that there is a serial killer on the loose doing exactly what Jackman said."

"We're all over it," Paige said, already swinging the crystal over the map.

"He also said that Jackman has more information on us than he shared," Phoebe continued, "including our genealogy. Dating all the way back to Melinda Warren."

"What does that mean?" Paige asked without taking her eyes off the map.

"They're going to keep checking," Phoebe answered.

"It means he's going through an awful lot of trouble to get as much information on us as possible," Piper said, moving from behind the book and to where Phoebe was standing. "I got a bad feeling he's not going to let us off the hook so easily after this is all over."

"What, he's just going to keep using us afterwards?" Paige asked. I sat down on one of the chairs and looked worriedly at Piper and Phoebe.

"Great, Charlie's freaking angels," Phoebe said, rolling her eyes. "This just keeps getting better and better." There was an audible clunk as the crystal landed on the map in front of Paige.

"Got Selena," Paige said, turning to face Piper and Phoebe. "Do we still go after her?"

"Well, we don't have a choice," Piper answered. "We can't let her run around burning people at the stake."

"What can I do to help?" I asked them.

"You are going to stay here where it's safe," Piper said. "We can't risk you being harmed in any way." I nodded and sighed heavily as they gathered around the map to check out the location, then headed downstairs to grab their jackets and head out to get the supposed witch hunter. I decided to distract myself by cleaning up the attic a bit.

About an hour later I heard them talking downstairs and went down to see what was going on. Laying on the couch was a blonde woman with a olive colored jacket and black pants. Phoebe was just putting down the phone when I entered the room.

"Jackman is on his way," she said.

"That the witch hunter?" I asked, leaning against the door jam.

"Yeah," Piper said, turning to face me. "You need to either go back upstairs or stay in the kitchen, out of sight. This Jackman guy can't know about you."

"Piper," I started to argue, ready to reason that I could take care of myself.

"She's right," Phoebe said. "You're still new to magic and keeping the secret. This guy can not know about you or your powers." I resigned and walked into the kitchen to get something to drink. It was weighing heavy on me that they were so intent on protecting everyone else and yet thinking about giving up their powers. Half an hour later there was a knock on the front door and someone answered. I snuck up to the door to listen in on what was going on.

"Where is she?" I heard Jackman say.

"In there," Piper responded. "Whoa, whoa! You don't need that, she's unconscious."

"Did she put up much of a fight?" he asked.

"No, but her bodyguards did," Piper responded.

"Bodyguards?" he asked with a hint of disbelief in his voice. "She had bodyguards?"

"Yeah, lots of them with lots of guns and they weren't shy about using them either." Piper again.

"Oh, must have known we were closing in on her," he concluded.

"Still, don't you think it's odd that a serial killer has hired guns protecting her?" Paige asked.

"Well maybe she's not working alone," he sniped.

"Or maybe you're just not telling us everything," Phoebe said.

"Maybe I'm not," Jackman snapped back. "What are you gonna do about it?"

"Well for one thing, we're not gonna let you take her without a warrant," Piper replied in her protective motherly tone.

"You know, you're all the same," he huffed. "You think that just because you have gifts, powers, that you're above it all, you're special. Well I know different."

"Oh really?" Phoebe countered.

"Yeah, your arrogance is your Achilles heel, that's why witch hunters and demons are always after you and they always will be," he continued to preach. "I wouldn't trade places with you for the world." I heard some papers rattle and I suspected he was pulling them from his pocket. "Here's your warrant." I heard the papers slap the table.

"So when do we get our files?" Paige asked.

"When she's in jail and I feel I'm safe," he said. Something in his voice made the hairs on the back of my neck stand up.

"Safe from what?" Phoebe asked.

"Safe from you. I don't wanna be another one of those people who mysteriously disappear around here." A moment later I heard the door close and I slowly made my way to the living room as the sisters started talking.

"I knew he'd never give up those files," Piper said matter-of-factly and sat down on the couch. "In case anybody is wondering, we are officially screwed." Phoebe sat down next to her and I stopped behind one of the chairs.

"Not necessarily," Phoebe said.

"No, we are not giving up our powers," Paige fumed and stormed over to the chair in front of me, tossing herself into it.

"Paige, I don't wanna give up our powers either," Phoebe stated. "But I don't want to give up our lives even more. He's just going to keep using us."

"Unless we let the angel wipe the slate clean," Piper said, and Paige pouted, dropping her head. I crossed my arms and creased my brow, not liking how they were thinking. "Look, Paige, we said we would wait to decide until this thing played out and it has. And frankly if the angel hadn't made this offer I'd probably think differently and I'd think let's just keep fighting. But I'm tired of fighting and Jackman's right, it is never ending."

"Unless we end it ourselves," Phoebe said and sighed, then looked at Piper. "So do we need to talk to Leo about this first?"

"No," Piper replied, still looking at Paige, "it doesn't have anything to do with him. It's just us."

"You guys are only seeing the bad," Paige said lifting her head, and both Phoebe and Piper looked away. "What about all the wonder of being witches, the stuff you introduced me to in the first place? You gonna let all that go?"

"Paige, it doesn't balance out anymore," Phoebe argued. "And after everything we've lost, it doesn't seem worth it."

"What about all the good we've done," Paige asked on the verge of tears. "Doesn't that count for anything?"

"Of course it does," Piper said sympathetically, "but that's exactly why we have this choice to make. He said we fulfilled our destiny, we've done it. This is supposed to be our reward for that."

"Yeah, well pardon me if it didn't seem like much of a reward," Paige said, a lone tear escaping the corner of her eye, "because without being witches I wouldn't have sisters." I quickly moved to hug Paige and she added, "or a niece."

"Mandy?" Piper asked and I released Paige to look at my mom. I just gave her a sad smile.

"I don't have a say," I said. "But if I did I would side with Paige. Without magic I wouldn't have a family again." Everyone was silent for a moment, then Phoebe got up and moved for the stairs, avoiding all eye contact. Piper got up to follow, pausing for a moment to put a hand on my shoulder then continuing on her way upstairs. Paige got up as I hung my head, trying to hide my disappointment. She wrapped me up in a big old bear hug.

"I still love you kiddo," she whispered in my ear, then gave an extra squeeze and followed the other two up the stairs. I lingered in the living room, eyeing the folded warrant. I picked it up and unfolded it, reading the print. Something about the warrant wasn't sitting right with me, I just couldn't pinpoint what it was. I was trying to remember all that I overheard Jackman telling the sisters and everything else that went on through the day. Two and two just wasn't adding up to four in my books. I moved for the stairs to head up to the attic to discuss my thoughts before my mother and aunts did something that would prevent them from reversing what they did.

"Piper?" I asked as I walked up the attic stairs.

"Yes Mandy?" she called back as I reached the doorway. I glanced around the attic and saw an older man dressed in a robe walking around the other end of the attic and I assumed he was the angel they were talking about. Phoebe was laying on a pillow in the center of a ring of candles. "What's wrong?" Piper asked me.

"I'm not sure if this truly means anything, but if Jackman is just an FBI agent specializing in the mystery cases, why exactly would he want to dig up your family history all the way back to Melinda?" I asked, and Piper and Paige looked at each other and I saw them working my question. I was hesitant, but I continued. "And how exactly would he know how witches operate?"

"I've been wondering why he came alone for Selena," Paige said. Piper nodded at both of us.

"The way he said, or rather didn't say, how he got that amulet had me bugged," she said.

"Maybe holding off on the whole giving your powers up thing would be a good thing," I said, then held up my hands. "Your decision though."

"She's right, Piper," Paige said. "We have to make sure we didn't mess something up."

"Agreed," Piper said. "How did you know all what was being said though?"

I bowed my head for a moment before answering. "I eavesdropped."

"Good thing she did," Paige said. "She'd make a good cop." I glanced at Paige and gave a small smile which she returned with a wink. Just then Phoebe sat up with a gasp.

"Are you okay?" Piper asked her.

Phoebe drew in a breath before answering. "Yeah, let's do this."

"Well we've been thinking a little bit," Piper said, delaying Phoebe.

"Are you having second thoughts?" Phoebe asked, looking between Piper and Paige.

"Not about the decision unfortunately," Paige said with slight bitterness in her voice.

"About Jackman and Selena," Piper answered.

"Yea, a lot of things don't add up," Paige explained. "His extensive knowledge of witches, how he got a hold of that amulet."

"The fact that he came alone to pick up Selena," Piper continued.

"The bodyguards," Paige added.

"Why he dug up your genealogy," I inputted.

"We just wanna make sure we've done the right thing before it's too late to do anything about it," Piper finished.

Phoebe nodded. " Okay." Then she turned to face the angel. "Is that okay?" she asked him.

The angel started as if he was in his own world. "Hm? Oh, sure, absolutely," he answered. "Frankly I thought you were being a bit premature anyway."

"Well then why didn't you say something?" Piper asked slightly annoyed.

"Oh, can't. Free will and all. Let me know when you're ready." With that he disappeared.

"So now what?" Paige asked.

"Leo!" Piper called and Leo orbed in with Darryl.

"We were just coming to get you," he said with a hint of panic in his voice.

"Why? What did you find?" Piper asked, worried.

"Another genealogy Jackman has besides yours," Leo answered.

"Oh, yeah, we know Selena's a descendent of witch hunters," Paige said as if it was obvious.

"No, Jackman is," Darryl corrected. "Selena is a daughter of a witch."

"What?" Piper asked in disbelief as the look crossed my aunts' faces.

"She's not a suspect, she's a victim. They have her in a safe house because somebody's trying to kill her."

"Please tell me we didn't just help a witch hunter get a witch," Paige groaned.

"Oh my god," Piper exclaimed.

"Oh my god," Phoebe echoed as we all ran for the door.

"We have to find Selena and stop Jackman," Piper said.

"How? We don't know where they are," Paige retorted.

"I'll scry, you guys go," I said and turned around back up to the attic where the crystal and map were.

"But-" Piper started, stopping in her tracks.

"Go, I'll call your cell," I shouted back as I entered the attic door. Quickly I moved to the crystal that was still consecrated from this morning's search and swung the crystal. I focused everything I had on finding the young girl to save her. It was the least I could do to help out. Within a moment the crystal landed on the deepest part of Golden Gate Park. I grabbed the cordless and called Piper's cell and relayed the information. Once the phones disconnected I sat down on the couch and prayed they got there in time. I knew my family pretty well by now and knew that if anything happened to Selena that they wouldn't be able to forgive themselves. I became restless and started pacing the attic, then moved my pacing downstairs. It was nearly two in the morning when Piper, Phoebe and Paige came home. By that time I was in the kitchen cooking some chicken, just trying to keep busy. I looked up when Piper walked in, looking exhausted. She met my eyes and gave a small smile.

"Selena's safe in the hospital, Jackman's dead and we're safe for now," she said. I left the stove and gave her a big hug.

"I'm glad everything's okay," I said once we separated and I was heading back to the stove.

"So am I. Thank you for finding her for us." Piper walked over to the stove and glanced at my simmering chicken chunks. "What are you cooking?"

"I don't know," I honestly replied. "Maybe I'll make a stir fry for supper with it tomorrow."

"Sounds like a plan." Piper shut the stove off, covered the chicken, then wrapped her arm around my shoulders. "Come on kiddo, time for bed." I wasn't about to argue, after hearing her say everything is okay my body was ready for sleep.

The next day there was a hearing for the deceased agent Jackman's crimes. Leo and I were waiting for the sisters to get home, Leo pacing and myself sitting on the steps. Finally around four in the afternoon Piper and Phoebe walked in through the front door. Leo and I both looked at them.

"Where's Paige?" Leo asked when she didn't follow the other two in.

"Oh, she had to park down the street because the driveway was blocked," Piper stated.

"Well that's ridiculous. I'll go talk to them and tell them to move," Leo said and started for the door, but Phoebe stopped him.

"Oh, it's no big deal," she said.

"And to think twenty-four hours ago that was our biggest problem," Piper mused as she leaned against the couch in the sitting room.

"How'd it go?" Leo asked. Phoebe leaned against the couch next to Piper.

"Well, it looks like we got away with everything so far," Piper said.

"Thanks to Selena testifying for us," Phoebe added.

"What about how agent Jackman died?" Leo asked, concerned.

"They're stumped," Piper said flatly. "They can't figure out how he shot himself from twenty feet away."

"What are they gonna do, subpoena Cole?" Phoebe asked with a hint of humor in her voice.

"You guys stopped one of their own from killing again. I think they'd be grateful," Leo said matter-of-factly.

"Yeah, one would hope," Piper sighed. "Until they find those files on us."

"They won't." We all stared at Leo in a confused kind of way and he went on to explain. "I sorta orbed them into a volcano."

"You did what?" Phoebe asked.

"Uh, excuse me, are you allowed to do that?" Piper asked him in disbelief.

"Well, my job is to protect my charges and that's all I did." Piper moved from the couch and kissed him.

"Thanks. Maybe sometime soon you won't have to protect your charges," she said. "Are you okay with that?"

"Whatever you guys decide I'll support," he replied with a smile. "I mean that."

"Me too," I said and Piper gave me a smile. Suddenly a weird feeling washed over me and the next thing I knew Phoebe and Paige were squealing like little girls and touching Piper's stomach area talking over each other, and Piper had a kind of happy but shocked look on her face.

"What's going on?" Leo asked.

"I'm pregnant," Piper said. Leo's face lit up as he joined in on the excitement, giving hugs and kissing Piper. I suddenly felt very out of place, being that I was only adopted into the family. I snuck up the stairs to my room and quietly shut the door. I was happy for my family, I truly was. However, it didn't stop me from feeling like I was going to be forgotten. I laid down on my bed and stared at my ceiling until it got dark, contemplating my conflicting feelings.

It was shortly after dark that I heard a knock at my door then it was opened, the light from the hallway flooding my room.

"There you are," Piper said, flicking on the light. "Are you okay sweetie?" she asked when I didn't respond. Piper sat down on the bed next to me and looked up at the ceiling with me. "It needs to be painted, doesn't it?"

"It's fine," I muttered.

"Wow, you are still alive. Thought you left me here," she joked. I gave a small smile. "Okay miss Mandy. What's in your head?"

"Do you guys want me to leave?" I asked.

"What? Why would you say that?" she asked, and I sat up.

"Well, I'm happy for you Piper. I mean, I know how bad you want a baby."

"But?"

"Am I going to be wanted around here anymore then?" Her response was unexpected, for Piper wrapped me up in a big hug.

"Honey, you will always be wanted," she said. "Besides, who else would be the overbearing big sister?" I pulled away and looked at her confused. "You are my daughter. Whether I gave birth to you or not, I will always consider you as such. Understand?" My response was a smile and another hug.


	4. From the Bottom of the Sea pt 1

From the Bottom of the Sea pt 1

Early in the morning a normal teen would be sleeping if they have no school, no responsibilities. Me, I really couldn't sleep after 5 am on this particular day. It was late June, I was almost a month into summer break. It was in that past month that a lot had changed. Our family, my family, was going to be plus one in about nine months. I was going to become a big sister. Not only that, but I was getting to handle my powers better. I was orbing more precisely.

Not only that, but I was also working out more with Aunt Phoebe, when she wasn't busy with her advice column. When she was busy, I was using the basement as my personal space, beating away my frustrations and concerns out on the punching bag hanging in the corner. Which is where I was when my mom Piper began moving around the kitchen above me.

I was just moving to the tunes of Fort Minor songs, imagining that I was dodging and striking world class boxers and attacking demons. I was so wrapped up in my moves that I never saw when Piper came down the stairs and just stood at the bottom, watching me.

"Now what did that bag ever do to you?" she asked me teasingly. I spun and stumbled a step from my speed, grinning as I approached her.

"It gave me an evil eye," I huffed, trying to catch my breath. My purple tank top was soaked with sweat, being that I had been working out for over two hours. I glanced at my watch and saw it was almost eight thirty.

"Well remind me never to do that. You hungry?"

"Famished," I replied, grabbing my water bottle and gulping some down. Piper just chuckled and grabbed my arm.

"Come on, I'll make you some breakfast then." We headed upstairs where I sat down at the island and Piper went to the stove where there was an already open carton of eggs sitting. "Did you see your aunt Phoebe yet?" Piper asked as she cracked an egg into the frying pan.

"No, but I've been in the basement all morning so far," I replied. I got up and grabbed a glass from the cupboard and poured myself a cold glass of orange juice. "Why, what's up?"

"Just wanted to know," she said as I returned to my seat. I wiped my hands off on my black shorts to keep from dropping the glass.

"How's the nursery coming?" I asked. I hadn't seen it since Piper had me move some of her boxes of shoes up to the attic.

"Good, you know you can come into my room, right?" Piper cast a sideways glance at me.

"Yeah, but I don't want to risk walking in on you and dad," I said, shuddering as the fleeting image of them kissing ran through my head.

"Ah, coffee," came Phoebe's voice as she came sweeping into the kitchen and headed straight for the pot.

"Good morning aunt Phoebs," I said as Piper placed a plate of eggs in front of me.

"Morning Mandy, morning Piper," she said, then took a sip of coffee. "Okay, I'm gone."

"Wait!" Piper exclaimed, dashing to catch Phoebe as she moved for the door.

"Ok, Piper, I can't be late getting to the office today," Phoebe stated as Piper guided her through the doorway. "I have a radio interview with those morning guys, Pip and Skeeter."

"That's Skip and Peter," Piper corrected as they disappeared from my view and I chuckled to myself. Since the vanquish of the Source, Phoebe was burying herself in work. It was kind of sad, but she was pushing through the best way she knew how. I ate my eggs thinking about how much I have grown to love them since I became one of the family, just a few short months ago.

Once I was done I placed my dish in the sink and went upstairs to change, and was just turning the corner at the top of the stairs when I saw Piper move her hands in her traditional way of blowing something up.

"Hmm, so much for the theory that Borneo demons are impervious to magical powers," Paige stated as she marked something down in a small notebook. "I can't wait to tell the local witch doctor."

"Uh, excuse me, can we refrain from blowing up demons in the nursery?" Leo stated, walking out of the closet where they were putting the nursery and standing between Paige, who was at the foot of the bed, and Piper, who was near the door by me. He was dressed in a green tee shirt and jeans, covered in saw and plaster dust. I poked my head in and leaned against the doorway.

"Oh honey, it was just one," Piper said casually. Leo had his concerned face on now.

"Piper, you're going to be a mom. You need to start thinking about the safety of our daughter," he said, and Piper just glanced down. Then he turned to Paige. "And you, you're getting so caught up with this magical kick. I mean, look at your hair. It's still red from the potion you blew last night." I silently smiled to myself. I had been helping Paige on that potion, which was meant to create a "red hot" fire that a demon would suffer in, and had ducked one moment sooner than she did and she got hit with the explosion.

"Do you have any idea how much this would cost in a salon?" Paige said, flipping her hair. Phoebe moved, lightly smacking Leo on the shoulder and gave Paige a hug.

"I love your new do, honey, I think you look beautiful," she said, then rushed for the door, making me back up a step to let her pass. "Okay, bye!"

"Thank you," Paige said to her retreating figure.

"Honey, sweets, toots," Piper said, turning to Leo and taking his hands in hers. "I appreciate that you're very concerned, but I am still a witch, and we do still have innocents to protect and demons to fight. I can't just crawl in a hole." Leo sighed as he stared at her.

"Okay, well I have to get going as well," Paige said. "That evil thing called work is calling to me as well." Paige gave Piper and me a hug, then left as well. Leo had already moved back to the closet.

"You guys need any help yet?" I asked, poking my head back in.

"Well, since you are the only one left to give an opinion," Piper said, smiling at me. I entered the room and took a mock bow. She grabbed two paint strips and fanned them out. "I was thinking have this lighter pink for the walls and this slightly darker pink for the accents," she said, pointing to the two different colors. I gazed at them for a moment then looked up at her.

"Now what is so wrong with having a black room?" I teased with a mock seriousness. Piper gave me an exasperated look and I smiled, wrapping my arm around her shoulder. Even at 13 I was still taller than she was, but only by about four inches. "No. Honestly I would try to go with a sky blue, but since you are so intent on being all girlie girl, perhaps reverse the two colors."

"Dark pink with light pink accents?" she asked, tilting her head in thought.

"Mmhmm. But it is up to you ultimately." I placed a kiss on her cheek. "I'm gonna go shower and change now."

"Okay, go away stinky girl," she said, pushing me off and mocking plugging her nose. I was just laughing as I went to my room to grab my clothes and went to the bathroom.

After personal hygiene I was dressed for my normal day and went back to their room to see if I could help. Piper had ran downstairs for something to eat and Leo sent me up to the attic to grab a box of baby stuff he found while cleaning. I glanced at the contents of the box and it all looked ancient.

"What is that?" Piper asked as she came into the room again.

"I found that box of baby things up in the attic last week," Leo stated as he was sanding the edges of the window opening. Piper sat down on the bed and began rummaging through it. "Could you come here Amanda?" I moved into the closet as he handed me a sandpaper block. "Can you get the edges over here?" he stated and pointed to the side next to me.

"Leo, I can't believe you found all our old baby stuff!" Piper exclaimed.

"Grams was a bit of a packrat."

"Baby book. My baby book!" Piper sounded exciting as I heard her open it up. "Oh, look how squishy I was!" I put down my sandpaper and went to go look while Leo just chuckled.

"You were so adorable," he commented. Piper and I glanced at each other before she looked at him.

"Leo, you can't even see the picture."

He paused and turned to face us. "I'm your Whitelighter. I've been watching you ever since you were a baby."

"Uh huh, yeah, see, that's too creepy to think about," Piper said as I shook my head. No one ever said magic was simple. Leo turned back to the window. She looked down and flipped the page. "I never knew that mom kept a baby book for me."

"Why not?" Leo asked. "I mean, you started one for our daughter." Leo grunted as he picked up the window and went to put it in the hole in the wall. "I always thought you and your mom were a lot alike." He grunted as he attempted to balance the window on his knee to get a better grip. Piper flipped the page of the book again.

"It's strange to think that she went through everything I'm going through right now. I don't think you ever really know how much your mother loves you until you become one yourself." A second later the window dropped to the floor with a thud as Leo yelled out in pain. Both Piper and I grimace from the sound and yell. "Oh, are you okay?"

"Yeah," Leo responded with gritted teeth. Piper moved the box from next to her and got up, going to him.

"Here, um, why don't you let me help you?"

"It's heavy."

"Well, see, that's kind of why I wanted to help you with it." Leo let out a sigh.

"Piper, when are you gonna accept the fact that you're pregnant?"

"When are you going to stop being so overprotective?" she retorted.

"All I'm suggesting is that you slow down."

"Okay, Leo. I'm not going to be one of those women that sits on her ass and eats bon bons throughout her entire pregnancy," Piper stated matter-of-factly. "That's just not the woman you married. Besides, generations of Halliwell women raised perfectly normal children before me. They all got through it and so will I."

Leo glanced down at the baby book and stated softly, "not all of them."

"What's that supposed to mean?" Piper asked.

"How far along in the book have you gotten?" Leo asked. Piper gave a small huff and opened the book, then flipped the page. There was silence as she flipped a few more pages and I felt the mood in the room turn a little more somber. "There was no one there to finish it after your mother died."

"Oh," Piper simply said.

"Like I said, you're a lot like your mother. She was careless too. She thought she was invincible." Leo's voice got even softer as he said, "she was wrong." The sadness coming off of Piper was almost unbearable. I finally moved and put my arm around her shoulders, guiding her out of the closet/nursery.

"Hey, you want me to do anything for you right now?" I asked, but she just shook her head and gave me a small smile.

"Not right now, sweetie. Why don't you go watch some tv or go to Kyle's?"

"Okay." I gave her a small squeeze before I went downstairs. Piper had been so happy for the past month and then Leo laid the harsh reality down. Sometimes we need it, sometimes it just sucks. The girls were kind of recently obsessed with the demon killing and magical things though, especially Paige. It just made me wonder what my youngest aunt had going in her thought process. As I moved to the living room, I grabbed my book from off the mantle of the fireplace, sat down on one of the chairs in the living room and began reading. It wasn't long however before I heard Phoebe yelling for help from the kitchen. I put down my book, yelled up the stairs for Piper and Leo, then went into the kitchen where I stopped short at the sight of Phoebe dragging a mermaid into the house.

"Uh, Phoebs?" I questioned and she turned her head to me.

"Oh thank god," she said exasperated. "Help me carry Mylie into the living room." When I still stood gaping she added please, and I grabbed the tail.

"Hi," Mylie said. "Sorry about all of this," she stated out loud as we got her to the couch, and Phoebe rushed off up the stairs past Piper and Leo who were coming down.

"Are you real?" I asked in disbelief.

Mylie gave a small smile and said, "I'm real. And so is the danger I'm in."

"Danger?" Piper exclaimed. "What danger?"

"Got it!" Phoebe said, rushing back into the room with an extension cord, a hair dryer, and a pink kimono-like shirt. "Hi Piper. We were attacked by a demon."

"Sea hag, actually," Mylie corrected.

"What is that for?" I asked, pointing at the hair dryer. Phoebe plugged it in and handed the shirt to Mylie.

"To dry out Mylie's tail." When Phoebe started it up you could barely hold a conversation, so I sat back down on my chair, Leo sat down on the arm of the couch closest to the fireplace, and Piper was pacing.

After about 30 minutes the tail was almost all gone, replaced by legs, when Paige came through the door, stating, "Okay, I just cut work on the day of my big promotion and sped through a rainstorm to get here, what is the 9…1…1?" She stuttered on the last part when she rounded the corner and saw the last smidge of tail disappearing.

"Phoebe found a mermaid," Leo stated as Phoebe turned off the dryer.

"Actually, she found me. On the way to a very important court date, I might add," Phoebe stated, annoyance tingeing her voice.

"Hi, I'm Mylie. You must be Paige," she said politely, getting up to shake Paige's hand. "You have a very big underwater fan base."

"You're a mermaid? You guys actually exist?" Paige said in disbelief as she and Mylie sat down on the couch.

"Uh, excuse me," Piper interrupted. "When you said Sea Hag, did you mean like old woman hag, or evil witch hag? Because, see, I'm not really in the battle mood today."

"Um, she's kind of both," Mylie answered.

"Uh huh."

"Forget that, what's life like under the sea?" Paige asked excitedly. "Does your skin get wrinkly? Does algae pose a personal hygiene problem?" Mylie gave Paige a smile.

"Okay, guys, why don't we let her up for a little air," Leo said.

"No, it's okay," Mylie stated. "I don't mind. Actually, there's nothing like being a mermaid. You get to swim in the open sea all day, explore endless wonders, it's…it's pure freedom."

"Sounds like heaven," Phoebe stated and got up. "I'm sure you want to get back. I could drop you off at the beach on my way to-"

"Wait, you don't understand," Mylie explained. "It was a great life. For the first few hundred years." With that Phoebe sat back down.

"Mermaids are immortal," Leo informed.

"Yeah. We can spend eternity at sea. Because our hearts are, some say, as cold as the water. But sometimes a mermaid gets lonely, her heart warms, and she wants more."

"Is that what happened to you?" Paige asked.

"Mm hmm. The ocean's floor is littered with bones of mortals who died for love. I had to know why."

"Now these bones," Piper asked hesitantly, "um, could they be bones of mortals that perhaps the Sea Hag killed?"

"Piper!" Paige exclaimed, giving Piper a cross look.

"Wha-at?" she spat back, and I noticed a hint of fear in her eyes.

"So you said you wanted to feel love," Leo said, trying to get everyone back to the problem at hand. "Is that why you went to see the Sea Hag?"

"Yes," Mylie said. "If a mortal professes his love to a mermaid, she becomes human. The Sea Hag agreed to give me legs, but if I didn't find love before her deadline I would have to give her my immortality." Phoebe harshly laughed and stood up to stand by Piper, who was behind Leo.

"All that for a guy?" she asked rhetorically. "Boy, did you get taken for a ride."

"Phoebe," Paige scolded her now.

"What?"

"But I did find love," Mylie injected and we all looked at her. "I-I mean, um, I think I did. But I might be dead before I get to find out for sure. Craig's getting on a plane to New York soon."

"Oh no no no. This is good," Piper said quickly. "Because all we've got to do is find the fish lover, get him to spill his guts, and then we don't have to face the Sea Hag." Phoebe shook her head in agreement.

"Piper," Paige scolded again.

"What?" Piper asked.

Paige shifted her attention back to Mylie. "If your boyfriend's love can make you human, why don't you just tell him you're a mermaid?"

"You mean that I'm a genetic freak with a fishtail coated in glandular slime?" Mylie said.

"She raises a good point," Leo said with a small smile.

"Yeah," Phoebe agreed.

"Hey, you may be half fish, but you're still a woman, and women, you know, they generally know when a man's in love, even before he does," Paige stated and Phoebe scoffed.

"Oh puh-lease. If I wrote that slop in my column, I'd be driven out of town."

"Okay, that's it," Paige said, having enough of Phoebe and Piper's attitudes. "Can I see you two in the kitchen?" Phoebe sighed and they went moved for the said room.

"They always this reluctant?" Mylie asked me and Leo.

"No, I think it's a sister thing," Leo stated. "I better go check on them." He moved to go check on the situation in the other room. I looked at Mylie and smiled at her.

"So," I said, and she smiled back at me.

"What's your question for me?" she asked, a twinkle in her eye.

"I just keep thinking you look nothing like the Little Mermaid from Disney," I said, shrugging. Mylie laughed at that.

"Most of those movies and stories only get part of the story. But I do believe I found my Prince Eric, so to speak." Just then Phoebe went rushing out the door with a quick goodbye. I furrowed my brow and a moment later Paige came in.

"I hate to be informal, but if we are going to save you, I'm going to have to get Craig's flight information," Paige stated. Mylie quickly gave Paige the flight information and Paige orbed out as Piper walked up the stairs. I couldn't help but notice that something wasn't right with her. She seemed more fearful than earlier. Leo came into the living room and I excused myself and went upstairs to try to help Piper, or try to find out what was wrong.

I found her in the attic paging through the Book. "Hey," I said casually, watching her closely. "Need some help?"

"No," she said, tension in her voice. She never even looked up to glance at me. "Spell's right here."

"That's not exactly what I was talking about," I said, placing my hands in my back pockets. "Are you okay Mom?" She gave me a small smile.

"Of course, just don't want to lose an innocent, that's all," she said. I just shrugged and we went back downstairs. By the time reached the bottom Leo had the tv on and there was a non-stop weather report on. Piper just stared out at the tv for a moment then turned away as the newscaster was getting covered from a big wave.

"Now, the Book says that the Sea Hag has power over her natural environment. Would that be rainstorms?" Piper asked.

"Yeah," Mylie said. "Rainstorms, hurricanes-"  
"Hurricanes?" Piper nearly screeched in alarm.

"Even tidal waves."

"Leo, she said tidal waves. How far do tidal waves travel?" There was extreme panic in Piper's voice now.

"Excuse us," Leo said, taking Piper by the arm and pulling her to the side. I watched them closely for a moment, then Leo orbed out and the front door opened. We all looked over as Paige and a man I assumed was Craig came in.

"Hey," he said, going towards Mylie. She got up and met him half way. Piper moved from her spot near the fireplace to by Paige near the door.

"You came," she said.

"Yeah, Paige told me your life was in danger," he explained. "What's going on?"

"I really need to know how you feel about me," she said.

"I can't believe we're back on this," he scoffed, then looked at Piper and Paige. "What, you two in on this joke or what?"

"It's no joke," Paige stressed. "You have to tell her how you feel about her. Her life depends on it."

"What is this? The delusional girls club? Come on, tell me what's happening."

"I can't," Mylie stated.

"You can't." Craig sighed. "You yank me out of a business meeting. You have a friend ambush me at the airport. I miss my plane and you can't tell me why?"

"No."

"Okay, buddy, look," Piper snapped. "You obviously wouldn't be here if you didn't care, so why don't you just tell her that you love her, for crying out loud."

"Piper, relax!" Paige warned. Piper turned to her.

"What? If he does not do this then we've got to fight the evil-" While Piper was ranting, Paige was trying to signal her to hush, and I got up, ready to interject, but Piper stopped at the last second and glanced at Craig, who was staring at her. "-person." He just shook his head, having enough of the secrets.

"You know what? I'm outta here," he said, turning to leave the room.

"Craige wait!" Mylie stopped him. "You want to know what I'm hiding from you? Okay." Craig turned around as Mylie grabbed the flower vase and took the flowers out of it, setting them on the table.

"Mylie?" Piper hesitantly asked. Mylie just moved for the chair I had been sitting in and I stepped back as she sat down, lifting her legs over the armrest. "No, don't!" Piper shouted but it was too late, she had already poured the water over her legs and her tail appeared. Craig stumbled back with a look of horror on his face.

"Please don't be afraid," she pleaded with him. "It's still me."

"What are you? Gee!" Craig said, stumbling back into the wall, he spun quickly, grabbing his things and bolting out the door. Piper sighed and Mylie's shoulders slumped. Suddenly the air in the room started moving and the Sea Hag appeared a few feet behind Mylie's position.

"Did you find a vanquishing spell?" Paige asked Piper as Piper stepped back. Piper stuttered with her answer as a ball of water formed in the Sea Hag's hand, her eyes focused on Piper. "Piper freeze her!"

Piper attempted to use her powers, but nothing happened. "I can't," she said fearfully. The Hag then threw the water ball at Paige, encasing her in a column of water. The fear in Piper's eyes was evident, and the Hag prepared another water ball. I jumped up and over the chairs in an attempt to tackle the Hag just as she shot the second ball at Piper. I knocked the demon to the ground but as fast as I moved she had also encased me in water.

It was suffocating. I couldn't orb out or breathe. I could only hear Mylie yelling for Piper's help as the Hag advanced on her, then disappeared. With their disappearance though, the water around Paige and myself disappeared. We both coughed from the lack of air and Paige turned to confront Piper who was just standing up again.

"What happened to you?" Paige asked with a hint of anger in her voice. I just looked at Piper and her eyes shone with tears. "Why did you freeze up?" Piper still didn't answer her. Paige just shook her head. "I'm going to go change, then call Leo and Phoebe home." Paige huffed and headed for the stairs. I walked over to Piper.

"Mom, you okay?" I asked gently. I was not used to her freezing up like that in the middle of a demon battle.

"I don't know," she whispered, her voice threatening to break into sobs.

"Okay, well, I'm going to go change as well, just calm down. We'll find Mylie again," I said, hating seeing her like this. I patted her shoulder then headed for the stairs as well. Once I got to the top, I heard Paige mumbling to herself in her room.

"Losing an innocent, what is wrong with her," I overheard her ask herself.

"Aunt Paige," I said from her doorway. She turned around, already in a white sundress and a towel in her hands that she was using to dry her hair with.

"What?" she asked.

"Could you please not be angry with Mom?" I asked. "She feels guilty enough as it is."

"Well she should, we lost an innocent down there," she reiterated.

"Gosh, and I thought I had just taken a swim in the living room," I sarcastically shot back. "I was there too, ya know. I know you are upset, but when you go back downstairs, just… be easy on her." With that I headed for my room and changed into another set of clothes, this time a light blue tee with a pair of black jeans. I pulled out a pair of tennis shoes and slipped those on, then headed back downstairs. I saw that everyone was in the sun room now. Paige was sitting in one of the wicker chairs, explaining what happened to Phoebe and Leo, Piper had a blanket wrapped around her shoulders looking out the window. Paige's voice had definitely toned down, but I could see the anger flash in Phoebe's eyes.

"She took our innocent?" Phoebe fumed at Piper once Paige had finished the story. "How could you let that happen?"

Piper turned around. The tears were gone from her eyes, but she still had a semi-scared look to her. "I don't know. I think I-I had a panic attack. I couldn't move or breathe."

"Okay, but she took our innocent," Phoebe was still fuming.

"Let's give Piper a break, okay?" Leo interrupted her.

"No, she's right," Piper said. "I froze up, Mylie's gone, and it's my fault."

"No, it's not your fault," Leo defended. "It's your hormones. Your maternal instincts are kicking in."

"More like taking over," Paige muttered and I lightly slapped her shoulder. I was defending Piper as well.

"It's natural for a mother to feel protective of her baby," Leo continued.

"But she's been handling demons ever since she got pregnant, why the sudden change today?" Phoebe asked.

"I don't know. I just- I don't," Piper replied.

"Let's just focus on finding Mylie," Paige said, changing the route of conversation. "What did you get on the Sea Hag?"

"There's a vanquishing spell, the Power of Three," Piper responded, looking down. "I, uh, I have it somewhere."

"Okay, what about a location?" Paige continued. "Did the book say where we could find her?" When Piper didn't respond, Leo spoke up.

"The Elders say she keeps a cavern on a remote island. She keeps it hidden with charms and spells. The only way to track her is with a mermaid."

"Okay, well, unfortunately we're fresh out of those," Phoebe sarcastically laughed. That was when Piper snapped.

"Okay, yeah, well where were you when this all went down?" she asked. Phoebe looked down and lowered her voice.

"I had my own demon to deal with."

"Well the good news is that the Sea Hag can't steal Mylie's immortality unless she's willing to give it up," Paige said.

"Which could be any minute," Leo pointed out.

"That's true, if she gives up hope, she might want to die," Paige admitted.

"All right, well, I'll find Craig, we may need him," Leo said.

"Try the airport, he was headed to New York," Paige said. Once Leo had orbed out, Piper moved forward.

"I'll try to locate the Sea Hag," she said, her voice sounding dejected.

"Oh honey, I'm sorry," Phoebe said, finally realizing that Piper was feeling horrible over the situation. "I might have been pushing too hard."

"Might?" I breathed, but Paige heard me and slapped me this time.

"Why don't you let us worry about the Sea Hag?" Phoebe asked, but Piper shook her head.

"No, cause I've gotta-" Piper started to argue, but Phoebe interrupted, placing her hands on Piper's arms.

"Rest! If not for your sake, then for my niece. All this stress can't be good," Phoebe said.

"She's right," Paige agreed, and Piper didn't argue. She just went to the wicker couch and laid down as Paige got up and the three of us headed up to the attic. We had been up there for almost an hour when Paige said that she thought she had a spell, and handed it to Phoebe to look over. I excused myself to go check on Piper.

"How are you feeling Mom?" I asked, sitting down in the chair next to her as she sat up.

"A little better, thanks," she said. "What did you guys come up with?"

"Well obviously scrying didn't work," I said. "But Paige may have a spell to track the Sea Hag, they were going over it when I walked down here."

"I should go help them," she said, getting up. I got up too.

"Want me to tag along?" I asked. She shook her head.

"No, I can do this. Read a book or something," she said, then kissed my forehead and walked upstairs. I sighed and headed for the kitchen to make something to eat. I had just finished making a peanut butter, banana and honey sandwich and was going to eat it when there was a loud thump from upstairs. I paused for a moment to see if I could hear any other movement. I went to the stairs and shouted up to make sure things were okay, and Paige yelled back that they were, so I just shrugged and went back to my sandwich.

It was about half an hour later that I had sensed that something was wrong. It was just a feeling that suddenly hit me, but when I opened my senses and reached out, I felt that Piper was panicking. I orbed out of the house to her immediately and found her on the beach, sitting against the cliffs, eyes closed and breathing heavily. When I placed my hand on her shoulder, she jumped and looked at me, fear in her eyes.

"Mom, it's okay, it's me," I said gently, squatting down next to her. "Where are aunt Paige and aunt Phoebe?"

"I-I don't know," she whispered. I looked around then back at her.

"Okay," I said, taking her hand in mine. "Mom, I need you to look at me." She did. "You are okay. I'm here, you are safe. Do you want me to orb you home?"

"No, we need to find Paige and Leo, they're with Phoebe," she said but her voice was still quivering. I nodded, then helped her stand up. When I was going to orb us to them, Paige and Leo materialized in front of us. I looked at Paige and saw concern in her eyes. "Where's Phoebe?" Piper asked them.

"She didn't want to come back," Paige said.

"You guys head home, I'm going to try to track her," Leo said and orbed out. Paige looked at us then focused on Piper.

"What happened to you?" she asked. Piper just shook her head.

"Let's just head home and try to find Phoebe," I said sensing that Piper didn't want to talk about her panic attack. I held her hand as Paige took her other one and we orbed home.


End file.
